CAREER: Community Ecology of Disease

生物多样性丧失和新出现的传染病是对社会最紧迫的环境威胁之一。虽然传统的生物医学研究侧重于单宿主、单寄生虫系统，但迫切需要将社区生态学纳入疾病研究，以了解宿主-病原体相互作用和疾病出现的模式。越来越多的证据表明，社区中的其他物种，包括捕食者、替代宿主和其他寄生虫，可以改变疾病的模式，并为控制新出现的感染提供新的工具。该提案的目的是通过确定宿主、非宿主和寄生虫多样性如何相互作用以影响一组全球受威胁的脊椎动物（两栖动物）的疾病风险，弥合群落生态学和疾病生态学之间的差距。研究人员将把对加州自由生活和寄生虫群落的联合收割机实地调查与对照实验相结合，以确定生物多样性的模式如何影响疾病的风险。这项工作将为确定寄生虫在生态群落中的作用奠定基础，并开发有效的工具来管理人类和野生动物中新出现的感染。这项研究将利用公众对两栖动物减少的兴趣。这四项外联活动旨在覆盖广泛的受众。首先，与国家地理学会和美国地质调查局合作，这项研究将加强一个公民科学计划，重点是报告畸形青蛙。其次，研究人员将开发一个纪录片媒体包，旨在促进淡水意识和两栖动物保护。第三，PI与生物教科书出版商Pearson和Sinauer合作，为高中和本科生设计了一个教育模块。除了PI自己的课程之外，这项工作每年将在教室和在线学习环境（MasteringBiology）中惠及数万名学生。在PI持续致力于让来自服务不足群体的本科研究人员参与的基础上，调查人员将与科罗拉多多样性倡议合作，促进体验式研究机会。

Biodiversity loss and emerging infectious disease are among the most pressing environmental threats to society. While traditional biomedical research focuses on single-host, single-parasite systems, there is an urgent need to incorporate community ecology into disease research to understand host-pathogen interactions and patterns of disease emergence. Growing evidence suggests that other species in communities, including predators, alternative hosts, and other parasites, can alter patterns of disease and could provide novel tools for the control of emerging infections. The aim of this proposal is to bridge the gap between community ecology and disease ecology by determining how host, non-host, and parasite diversity interact to affect disease risk in a group of globally threatened vertebrates: amphibians. The investigators will combine field surveys of free-living and parasite communities in California with controlled experiments to determine how patterns of biodiversity function to influence the risk of disease. This work will lay a foundation for determining the role of parasites in ecological communities and developing effective tools for managing emerging infections in humans and wildlife.This research will capitalize on the public's interest in the decline of amphibians. The four outreach activities are designed to reach a wide audience. First, in collaboration with the National Geographic Society and the USGS, this research will enhance a citizen science program focused on reporting deformed frogs. Second, the researchers will develop a documentary media package with the goal of promoting freshwater awareness and amphibian conservation. Third, the PI has partnered with biology textbook publishers Pearson and Sinauer to design an educational module for high school and undergraduate students. Beyond the PI's own classes, this effort will reach tens of thousands of students annually in classrooms and online learning environments (MasteringBiology). Building on the PI's ongoing commitment to involve undergraduate researchers from under-served groups, the investigators will partner with the Colorado Diversity Initiative to promote experiential research opportunities.